Landings Resident Artist |The World of Bix Mannion Bix Mannion is a contemporary impressionist painter who focuses on the portrait, the figure and its relationship to its environment Born in 1960, his background is unique. Bix tells the story in his own words: “I was born on the Mainline of Philadelphia, where my entire family was involved in both business and the arts. My father was the CEO of a large greeting card company, a position that combined both his entrepreneurial spirit and his passion for art. He later became a successful real estate developer where his attention to detail and appreciation for beauty made him stand apart. Not surprising to anyone, he became a successful painter in his retirement. “My grandmother was both an artist and a patron of the arts. She and her husband, Jack Dorrance possessed one of the most extraordinary private Impressionist art collections in
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the world. I grew up walking through the galleries in their home admiring the Picassos, Monets, and Renoirs, and especially the Van Goghs and Matisses! Ironically, the family that had founded Campbell’s Soup had no interest in Andy Warhol. “When my grandmother became aware of my interest and apparently god-given talent, she took immediate action. At the age of ten I began taking private art
lessons with Madame Magat, one of the premier French painting instructors in the Philadelphia area. While my classmates at the Haverford School were playing touch football, I was hopping a train to center city, brushes and art supplies in tow. After years of weekly private lessons, I took on the ambitious endeavor of copying a Renoir from a photograph. That Christmas I presented it as a gift to my grandmother.
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